Expressionism and Gothic Aesthetics in Tim Burton's Vincent: an intericonic analysis

This article analyzes how Tim Burton’s short film Vincent (1982) mobilizes visual echoes of German Expressionism and Gothic aesthetics through intericonic processes that articulate visual memory and film culture. Drawing on Jean-Jacques Courtine’s concept of intericonicity, the study examines how images refer to other images already circulating in cultural memory. The analysis highlights distorted sets, high-contrast lighting, diagonal framing, and references to Edgar Allan Poe and classic horror cinema. It argues that Vincent reactivates historical visual traditions to construct the protagonist’s imaginary universe, demonstrating how contemporary cinema reinscribes expressionist and Gothic repertoires in new aesthetic contexts.